AN: Here we are, another chapter here. Much more to come, we're still just getting set up here.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

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When Carol woke up, her daughter was still sleeping. She sat up and looked around the small bedroom. For a split second, she nearly panicked because she couldn't remember where she was, but it didn't take long before it all came flooding back to her.

Carol eased out of the bed and rearranged the clothes she'd been given to sleep in from the twisted state they'd succumbed to during the night. She slipped as quietly as she could out of the small bedroom and made her way to the bathroom that Andrea had shown her the night before. When she'd relieved herself and washed her hands, she left the bathroom. She found Andrea, also in her pajamas, keeping watch over a coffee pot that was busy producing a pot of coffee for the two of them.

"You like coffee?" Andrea asked.

"Who doesn't?" Carol responded.

Andrea laughed to herself.

"Do you really like coffee or are you still stuck on that streak of being agreeable that you got stuck on last night?" Andrea asked. "Because you're not going to offend me if you don't drink the coffee. I promise you—a pot of coffee won't go to waste around here if that's what you're worried about."

"I really like coffee," Carol assured her.

"Cream and sugar?" Andrea asked.

"Just cream," Carol said.

Andrea smiled.

"Just sugar for me," she said. "We're already complementing one another." She quickly filled two mugs with coffee and gestured toward the door. "I like to have my coffee on the porch in the morning. With a cigarette. Would you like to join me?"

"Sophia's still sleeping," Carol said.

"We'll leave the door open," Andrea said. "We'll hear her and she'll hear us."

Carol nodded her acceptance and reached to take the cup from Andrea that was offered to her, the contents of the mug was still swirling around from the quick stir that Andrea had given it. She followed Andrea out onto the porch and sat at the small table that was out there. Andrea produced a pack of cigarettes from the waistband of her cotton shorts, shook out a lighter and a cigarette and offered the pack to Carol. Carol didn't smoke often, but she occasionally had a few. This morning she decided to take the blonde up on her offer.

The night before, Carol hadn't gotten a good look at anything. She didn't know what the town really looked like. She hadn't seen much as they'd travelled from the bar to the house that Andrea called home. She'd been too focused on what was happening and darkness and rain had made it difficult to see much anyway.

Now Carol could see that Andrea's house was a small but nice little house. She seemed to be sort of tucked back off the road and her house was at least partially hidden by bushes and a fence. There were neighboring houses that Carol could see, but the landscaping gave the feeling that the house was much more secluded than it actually was.

"This is nice," Carol said.

"The coffee?" Andrea asked. She slid the ashtray over so that it was between herself and Carol.

"The coffee," Carol said. "Your house. The company."

Andrea smiled at her.

"I'm fond of my home," Andrea said. "And I don't make bad coffee. At least, I don't think I do. I don't think the company is terrible either." She was quiet for a moment and then she spoke again. "I talked to Merle this morning. He said they found your car and Axel is going to take the truck over there and get it. He'll take it by the shop. They'll let me know when it's ready for you. Merle said that he's guessing all your stuff was in it, but there wasn't much there. He's sending a prospect over with your bags later."

"A prospect?" Carol asked.

"A prospective member of the MC," Andrea said.

"Merle's your..." Carol started, but she wasn't sure how to finish her statement.

"He's my boyfriend," Andrea said. "My old man. Whatever you want to call him is fine. He's my Merle, mostly."

"And he's part of the MC?" Carol asked.

"The president," Andrea said. "Like—the leader. He's the one who handles everything. Or, at least, he delegates the tasks."

Carol nodded her head.

"That's why everyone treated you like you were some kind of queen last night," Carol said. "Because you're the president's girlfriend."

Andrea laughed to herself.

"I'm the president's old lady," Andrea said. She drummed her fingers on the side of her coffee cup. "Maybe that's not the only reason. But I wasn't some groupie, either. Merle and I've been together a long time. But that's a long story and it's boring for someone who doesn't have a reason to care."

Carol laughed to herself.

"I care," she said. "Tell me. I'm interested."

Andrea hummed and shook her head.

"I tell you what—later. I'll tell you that story later. But right now? I'm interested in you," Andrea said.

Carol shook her head in response, doing her best to dismiss Andrea's interest in her.

"I don't have much to tell," Carol said.

"I think you've got a lot to tell," Andrea said.

"Not much more than I told you last night," Carol said. She sucked in a breath and let it out. She was ashamed of what she'd let herself get into. She was ashamed that she'd taken this long to leave Ed. But she wasn't ashamed to admit what had happened to her or to admit the fact that she was finally doing whatever it took to get away from him. "I'm married. I don't want to be. He's the father of my daughter, but he never wanted her. He hasn't been the kind of husband he promised to be and he hasn't been the kind of father that a child like Sophia deserves. I bought the car cheap. It's all I have. It doesn't have tags. I was driving it illegally. The two bags in the back of it are all I have. I have a couple hundred dollars that I've been squirreling away and yesterday I finally took it and—well I took everything I could carry. I left. And I don't want to go back. I don't want Sophia to go back to that. I never, ever want to go back."

Andrea reached her hand across the table and covered Carol's with it.

"That was one thing I wanted to know," Andrea said. "But—I have to ask, if you're not going back, where are you going?"

"What?" Carol asked.

"When you get that car back," Andrea said, "where are you going? Are you leaving or are you staying in Liberty?"

Carol studied her coffee. Then she glanced around her. Maybe she was simply intoxicated by the kindness of strangers. Maybe she was still tired and coming down off the adrenaline of her escape and the crash made her long to stay and rest. Maybe she was sucked in by the seemingly peaceful solitude of Andrea's quiet little home.

But there was something about Liberty that had Carol's attention.

"You said there's nothing here for me," Carol said.

"I said there's not much of anything in Liberty for anyone," Andrea said. "It's a small town, Carol. The kind that has a couple of stoplights now and a few businesses, but most people here know each other. Most of them mind each other's business a little too much. When someone new comes into town, it can sometimes seem like they're getting torn apart as everyone tries to figure out where they fit and who they fit with."

"It's quiet here," Carol said.

"Most of the time," Andrea said.

"There aren't a lot of new people?" Carol asked.

"People pass through Liberty," Andrea said. "Not a lot of them stay."

"Is there a lot of crime?" Carol asked.

"It's a pretty safe town," Andrea said. "Especially for someone like you. You wouldn't cause trouble and you wouldn't go looking for it. I think there's an old adage that states that those who go looking for trouble often find it."

"Good schools?" Carol asked.

"I think so," Andrea said. "A lot of that depends on the student."

"I don't have anything," Carol said. "I don't have money. I don't have—much work experience. I worked in an office for a little while after high school, but I married Ed so young and he really didn't want me to work."

"If you're set on staying in Liberty," Andrea said, "then I could help you find some work. It might not be the best job, but it'll be a job. It'll be a place to start with a paycheck. I can help you get a place to live. For now—why not stay here? I mean it's not great, but it's something. I don't mean forever or anything. Just a couple weeks. Get your feet on the ground. It'll give you time to look around and see what might be for sale or for rent. Just so you're not jumping into a contract or something."

"Why would you do that?" Carol asked.

"You're getting out. You're taking control of your life. I respect that," Andrea said. "And I want to help you do that. If the only thing standing between you and freedom from some asshole is knowing you've got a roof over your head until you can get on your feet? I've got plenty of roof to spare. Besides, you seem like a nice person and you've got a kid. I'm a sucker for a kid."

Carol laughed to herself.

"She's a good kid," Carol said. "Her father never saw that. He always thought she was terrible. But really, she's just a kid. You know?"

"I know," Andrea said.

Carol smiled when she heard Sophia call from inside the house.

"Right on cue," Carol teased. "I'm out here, sweetheart. On the porch."

"So you want to give Liberty a chance?" Andrea asked.

Carol nodded.

"I think I do," Carol said. "But I can't keep taking advantage of you."

"I promise," Andrea said, "the first moment that I think you're taking advantage, you'll be on your own. But there are a couple things I'd like to do today. There are couple of things I'd like for you to do with me. Do you have the time to spare? Then maybe we can talk about getting you a job?"

"If I can help you with anything," Carol offered.

"Breakfast first," Andrea said. "And then we'll talk about it all. Sophia?" Andrea called out to the little girl who was now standing and staring out the screen door. "Do you happen to like pancakes?"

Sophia smiled and nodded.

"What do you say, Sophia?" Carol asked.

"Yes ma'am," Sophia said.

"Great," Andrea said. "Because I do too. And today just might be the perfect day for some pancakes."

Carol followed Andrea inside and stooped down to offer Sophia a kiss. She brushed her daughter's hair back.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Carol asked.

Sophia nodded.

"Do you need my help?" Carol asked.

Sophia shook her head.

"Come on, sweetheart," Carol said. She directed Sophia to the bathroom and stood outside the door to see if her daughter might change her mind on whether or not she needed her help. Andrea kept casting glances at her over her shoulder.

"She's sweet," Andrea said.

"She is," Carol said. "What do you need help with today?"

"It's not help, exactly," Andrea said. "Carol—I'm a lawyer. There's not that much work in Liberty proper, but I work as far away as Atlanta if I need to. I have some connections. I do pro-bono a lot for women who need help getting away from...well, men like your husband."

"You're a lawyer?" Carol asked.

"Your tone of voice says you'd believe me faster if I told you that I was a rodeo clown," Andrea said with a laugh.

"I guess I just didn't expect it," Carol said.

"Because my old man is the president of a MC?" Andrea asked. "Carol—if you're going to live in Liberty, I'm going to let you in on one little secret, OK?"

Carol hummed at her.

"The club is a big presence in Liberty. The Judges? They have—they have a sort of reach that extends to every part of Liberty and even outside of it. Some of it's good, and some of it's bad. But the one thing that you're going to want to do is to not be too judgmental of the Judges. After all—if it weren't for the Vice President? You wouldn't be here right now. Your car would still be stuck in a ditch. I would have never met you. I certainly wouldn't be offering you all that I'm offering you right now. You see what I'm saying?" Andrea said.

Carol felt her throat tighten.

"I didn't mean...I'm so sorry," Carol said. "I didn't mean to come off like that. I guess I just thought..."

"I know what you thought," Andrea said. "And sometimes you're right, and sometimes you're wrong, and sometimes you're half-right. It's better to just let people show you who they are. Besides, you remember what I told you about Liberty and how new arrivals sometimes get treated? You might be well on your way to being one of those people who gets judged by what people assume rather than what they know."

"I'm so sorry," Carol said.

"And I'm not mad," Andrea said. "We won't talk about it anymore."

"I don't know anything about MCs," Carol said.

"If you stay around here," Andrea promised her, "you're going to know plenty."

Carol moved out of the way when Sophia opened the bathroom door and walked out.

"Did you wash your hands?" Carol asked. Sophia nodded her head. Carol only had to raise an eyebrow at her daughter and Sophia knew what she meant.

"Yes, Mama," Sophia said quietly.

"Do you like bacon or sausage, Sophia?" Andrea asked.

Sophia eyed Carol like she wasn't sure if she should respond. Carol nodded at her.

"I like bacon," Sophia said.

"You want to help?" Andrea asked. "And after breakfast—we're going to go and do a few things. We might even get you a surprise."

Sophia quickly crossed the small house to "help" Andrea in the kitchen with whatever simple tasks the blonde could make up for her to do.

"There's no need to get her anything," Carol said. "I don't want to put anybody out."

"Then don't," Andrea said. "If I do something, I'm doing it because I want to, Carol. I just need you to understand that. Nobody makes me do anything that I don't want to do. OK?"

"So anything you're doing for me is just because you want to do it," Carol said.

"Precisely," Andrea responded.

"And because you're—some kind of fairy godmother or guardian angel or something," Carol said.

Andrea laughed.

"I'm no angel," Andrea said. "But I've been called worse things. Sit down. Let's have breakfast before the prospect gets here. Then you can get changed. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can get everything done."